Reconceptualizing the Literacies in Adolescents’ Lives Second Edition Edited by Donna E. Alvermann • Kathleen A. Hinchman David W. Moore • Stephen F. Phelps • Diane R. Waff Reconceptualizing the Literacies in Adolescents’ Lives Second Edition Reconceptualizing the Literacies in Adolescents’ Lives Second Edition Edited by Donna E. Alvermann University of Georgia Kathleen A. Hinchman Syracuse University David W. Moore Arizona State University Stephen F. Phelps Buffalo State College Diane R. Waff WestEd, Oakland, CA LAWRENCE ERLBAUM ASSOCIATES, PUBLISHERS 2006 Mahwah, New Jersey London Copyright © 2006 by Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, by photostat, microform, retrieval system, or any other means, without prior written permission of the publisher. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc., Publishers 10 Industrial Avenue Mahwah, New Jersey 07430 www.erlbaum.com Cover design by Tomai Maridou Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Reconceptualizing the literacies in adolescent’s lives / edited by Donna E. Alvermann ... [et al.]. — 2nd ed. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-8058-5385-5 (cloth : alk. paper) — ISBN 0-8058-5386-3 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Language arts (Secondary)—Social aspects—United States. 2. Literacy—Social aspects—United States. 3. Critical pedagogy—United States. I. Alvermann, Donna E. LB1631.R296 2006 428'.0071'2—dc22 2005054715 CIP Books published by Lawrence Erlbaum Associates are printed on acid-free paper, and their bindings are chosen for strength and durability. Printed in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Contents Foreword vii Richard T. Vacca Preface ix Contributors xi Introduction xxi Donna E. Alvermann, Sarah Jonas, Ariel Steele, and Eric Washington PART I: SITUATING ADOLESCENTS’ LITERACIES Introduction to Part I 3 Stephen F. Phelps 1 Playing for Real: Texts and the Performance of Identity 5 Lorri Neilsen 2 “Struggling” Adolescents’ Engagement in Multimediating: 29 Countering the Institutional Construction of Incompetence David O’Brien 3 Re/constructing Identities: A Tale of Two Adolescents 47 Josephine Peyton Marsh and Elizabeth Petroelje Stolle 4 Adolescents’ Multiple Identities and Teacher Professional 65 Development Alfred W. Tatum PART II: POSITIONING YOUTH AS READERS AND WRITERS Introduction to Part II 83 David W. Moore 5 Adolescent Identities as Demanded by Science Classroom Discourse 85 Communities Elizabeth Birr Moje and Deborah R. Dillon v vi CONTENTS 6 Utilizing Student’s Cultural Capital in the Teaching and Learning Process: 107 “As If” Learning Communities and African American Students’ Literate Currency Jennifer E. Obidah and Tyson E. J. Marsh 7 Adolescent Agency and Literacy 129 David W. Moore and James W. Cunningham 8 Fallen Angels: Finding Adolescents and Adolescent Literacy 147 in a Renewed Project of Democratic Citizenship Helen J. Harper and Thomas W. Bean PART III: MEDIATING PRACTICES IN YOUNG PEOPLE’S LITERACIES Introduction to Part III 163 Kathleen A. Hinchman 9 Self-Fashioning and Shape-Shifting: Language, Identity, and Social Class 165 James Paul Gee 10 Exploring Race, Language, and Culture in Critical Literacy Classrooms 187 Bob Fecho, Bette Davis, and Renee Moore 11 New Literacies, Enduring Challenges? The Influence of Capital 205 on Adolescent Readers’ Internet Practices Phillip Wilder and Mark Dressman 12 Literacies Through Youth’s Eyes: Lessons in Representation 231 and Hybridity Kathleen A. Hinchman and Kelly Chandler-Olcott PART IV: CHANGING TEACHERS, TEACHING CHANGES Introduction to Part IV 255 Diane R. Waff 13 The Literacies of Teaching Urban Adolescents in These Times 257 Susan L. Lytle 14 Learning from Learners: Student Voices and Action Research 279 Jody Cohen, Cambria Allen, Heather Davis, Bruce Bowers, Elena Darling-Hammond, and Li Huan Lai 15 Reconceptualizing Adolescent Literacy Policy’s Role: 297 Productive Ambiguity Lisa Patel Stevens Author Index 311 Subject Index 317 Foreword The second edition of Reconceptualizing the Literacies in Adolescents’ Lives is more powerful—and will probably have a greater impact on what happens in middle and high schools under the guise of literacy instruction—than the first edition, which was published nearly a decade ago. The first edition was timely and remarkable in its own right, making a strong case to view adolescent literacy within a broader con- text that encompassed a “multiple literacies” perspective. But when the first edition was published in 1998, other than a diehard circle of adolescent literacy educators, who was listening or joining in on the conversation? Just 8 years ago, most adolescent literacy educators were deeply perplexed over the lack of attention paid to the academic and nonacademic literacies of adolescents. The emphasis placed on the development of “reading and writing skills” by politi- cal leaders, state and local school boards of education, and policymakers focused al- most exclusively on literacy learning and teaching in the early grades and in elementary school. It was about then that the International Reading Association es- tablished the Commission on Adolescent Literacy. Through its position statements, outreach, and advocacy efforts, the Commission positioned itself to create a na- tional consciousness—an identity, if you will—for adolescent literacy. The Commis- sion, along with groundbreaking books such as the first edition of Reconceptualizing the Literacies in Adolescents’ Lives, argued that educators and policymakers must ad- vocate for curricula, instructional programs, and educational policies that take into consideration the academic and nonacademic literacies that function in the lives of adolescents. What a difference 8 years make! Today the surge of support for adolescent liter- acy is felt everywhere. As the editors of this edition note in their preface, interest in adolescent literacy has “skyrocketed,” due in no small part to single-minded efforts at the national level to hold schools accountable for meeting standards of excellence for all students, especially for older readers who struggle with a wide range of texts in various content areas. However, it is my belief that “accountability” alone will not create permanent or profound differences in the literate lives of adolescents. Knowledgeable educators, curriculum planners, and policymakers will. And this is why the second edition of Reconceptualizing the Literacies in Adoles- cents’ Lives is in a powerful position to impact adolescent literacy instruction for the next decade or two. The chapter authors tackle head-on the important issues of ado- lescents’ personal identities, their social experiences, and their cultural capital in re- lation to literacy learning and literacy use. They provide critical insights into why adolescents do what they do as readers and writers and how teachers can best sup- port their literacy learning in and out of school. For example, personal identities—the self-understandings and perceptions we have of ourselves as readers and writers in various contexts—are inextricably tied to literacy learning and the varied ways we engage in literate activity. Allow me to vii viii FOREWORD illustrate this point from my own life experience. Thirty-something years ago at the age of 23, I began full-time doctoral studies at Syracuse University. I had just com- pleted my third year as a high school English teacher. Throughout my brief tenure as a public school teacher, I was continually perplexed as to why my students, many of whom were at risk of school failure, were “helpless” in the face of school-related reading assignments. Many of these students, the yong men in particular, could read Popular Mechanics without batting an eyelash. But just try assigning them a Hemingway novel! My concern for these students led me to doctoral studies in the field of reading, focusing mainly on adolescent learners. My initial motivation for studying reading was to better understand why older students who struggled with text found it diffi- cult to view themselves as readers and to use reading to learn. Soon into the doctoral program, however, I found myself struggling with learning—and doubting my- self—in ways that my students did. Although I could read a best-selling novel with ease in 5 or 6 hours, I found myself taking similar amounts of time to read chapter assignments from my statistics and research methods textbooks—only to come up short in understanding what I had read. I soon eschewed reading these “incompre- hensible” texts altogether in favor of taking copious notes and participating in study groups. During my first year of doctoral study, I often wondered why I had ever left the classroom. Six years earlier, I was Richie Vacca, point guard on my high school bas- ketball team. In college, I was Richie, the “frat boy” and future teacher. At age 23, my identity was wrapped in that of “teacher”—not scholar, not researcher. I was a doc- toral student in name only. My mom and dad were impressed. But I was depressed. Was I out of my league? Not as smart or as wise as my fellow doctoral students, who in many cases were a decade or two older than I? On more than one occasion, I thought about quitting and returning to classroom teaching where I had been suc- cessful. What I know now that I didn’t know then is that personal identity, what one chooses to read, how one reads, and why, are inextricably tied to one another. That first year as a doctoral student, I had experienced an “identity crisis” and lacked the self-perceptions and confidence to read difficult technical material that for all in- tents and purposes may as well have been written in a foreign language. Over time, however, I began to identify myself, not as a former point guard who was out of his league, but as a teacher/scholar/researcher, and that made all the difference in the way I approached and read technical texts and research reports. The second edition of Reconceptualizing the Literacies in Adolescents’Lives is a book that you will read and reread several times. It’s not Hemingway. But the ideas and issues encountered are powerful ones that will help educators and policy makers to understand what it takes to make lasting differences in the literate lives of adolescents. —Richard T. Vacca, Professor Emeritus Kent State University Preface In the nearly 8 years since Reconceptualizing the Literacies in Adolescents’Lives first ap- peared, interest in improving young people’s reading achievement has skyrock- eted. This interest, which shows no signs of abating, is being fueled by coordinated efforts at the national level to hold schools accountable for meeting standards of ex- cellence for all students, and especially for older readers and writers who struggle to comprehend a wide range of materials their teachers assign in the various disci- plinary areas (e.g., the English language arts, social studies, mathematics, and the natural sciences). Advocacy groups representing a broad spectrum of public and private interests are getting behind what some leaders in the field are calling the “adolescent literacy movement” to bring about change through increased funding for research and professional development. Not surprisingly, policymakers are finding it increasingly difficult to ignore these groups’ concerted call for improved literacy teaching and learning in the upper grades. Finally, not to be outdone and in an effort to claim their own ground in the push to spotlight adolescent literacy, pro- fessional organizations (e.g., the International Reading Association, the National Reading Conference, and the National Council of Teachers of English, to name but a few) are commissioning and adopting position statements that spell out what their memberships believe should be the objectives of effective literacy instruction at the middle and high school levels. As editors of the second edition of Reconceptualizing the Literacies in Adolescents’ Lives, we appreciate the attention being showered on youth and their multiple literacies, for it is the case in this age of information communication technologies and increasing global awareness that young people’s learning from and with texts can no longer be confined to print alone. Many of our colleagues both in North America and elsewhere would say that it’s about time literacy professionals and policymakers acknowledge that reading and writing instruction doesn’t end with elementary school. At the same time, we question the degree to which this new- found advocacy takes into consideration issues concerning young people’s per- sonal, social, and cultural experiences in relation to literacy learning. We submit in this second edition that unless such issues are acknowledged in terms of their impact on youth’s identity-making practices, much of what will pass in the name of adolescent literacy reform may miss its mark, or worse yet, harm the very individuals for whom it holds the greatest potential. To prevent this from hap- pening and to increase the chances that literacy reform efforts will take hold in ways that respect youth’s multiple literacies, we invited chapter authors to explore the impact of young people’s identity-making practices in mediating their perceptions of themselves as readers and writers. Specifically, we asked the authors to draw ex- amples from their own research that illustrate the importance of valuing adoles- cents’ perspectives in an era of externally mandated reforms and accountability measures that have the potential to change young people’s literate identities. ix